The Great Morgani: Former stockbroker becomes street performer

The Great Morgani is accordion player Frank Lima, a 68-year-old former stockbroker who creates elaborate costumes on his mother’s 1942 Singer sewing machine, and brings his music/extreme fashion design/performance art to downtown Santa Cruz. Learn more by watching the video. (You can see his costumes better if you click on “360p” and toggle to the HD version.)

I also wrote a story about Lima in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. Please buy it if you get a chance. The editors and page designers did a great job, laying out my article and several photos over three pages. The story is currently embargoed, but I’ll link to it here when it appears in on SFGate.com

This video was filmed in the middle of the day on a Wednesday, when there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic on Pacific Avenue. But I liked how he gave it his all anyway. The Great Morgani is about the music. Thanks to The Poop commenter/Santa Cruz Cabal founding member Shaboo, for tipping me off to Lima, after I released this video about comic store owner Joe Ferrara.

Enjoy The Great Morgani!

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder of this parenting blog, which admittedly sometimes often has nothing to do with parenting. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub. Your questions answered on VYou at www.vyou.com/peterhartlaub.